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Tablet app reduces CHF patient readmissions by 53 percent

New York City-based Health Recovery Solutions announced that its tablet-based program reduced the 30-day readmission rate for 130 congestive heart failure (CHF) patients at Penn Medicine’s Penn Care at Home program by 53 percent.

Health Recovery Solutions looked at Penn Care at Home's data between July 2014 and February 2015. During this time, the readmission rate fell from 8 percent to 3.8 percent.

“Since launching with HRS, we’ve had our best CHF readmission performance to date,” Anne Norris, Chief Medical Officer of Penn Care at Home, said in a statement. “In six of the last 12 months we have had zero thirty-day readmissions, and our overall rate stands at 3.8 percent. There’s a secret sauce here, using this tool to engage patients in their own self-care.”

The hospital provides patients with a cellular-enabled tablet, with the program, called PatientConnect, preloaded. Providers pay Health Recovery Solutions a licensing fee for the package.

Patients can use the system to communicate with their physician via video chat. The tablet software also encourages patients to record medication, weight, activity, and symptoms. Clinicians and caregivers can monitor this data through their own apps, ClinicianConnect and CaregiverConnect.

The patient tablet, which is equipped with a 4G data connection, will also offer educational materials about the conditions, which take the form of quizzes, pamphlets, and videos. The system can also collect data from A&D and Nonin home health devices. When clinicians notice that a patients is not improving, they can reach out to those specific patients to help them stay on track and reduce readmissions.

Health Recovery Solutions said they are working with Penn Care at Home to extend this platform to patients living with COPD, dementia, and cirrhosis.

In January, Health Recovery Solutions raised $1 million from undisclosed investors bringing the company’s total funding to $1.8 million. At the time, Health Recovery Solutions Chief Operating Officer Rohan Udeshi told MobiHealthNews that PatientConnect currently offers programs for patients with congestive heart failure, COPD, and diabetes. But Health Recovery Solutions has developed and is rolling out offerings for stroke recovery, post cardiac surgery, and hip and knee joint replacements. Towards the end of the year, Udeshi said the company plans to develop an offering for pediatric monitoring too. Health Recovery Solutions was also a member of Blueprint Health’s summer 2012 class.